Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) vs Microsoft Clarity vs Mixpanel
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Store owners, marketers and UX teams who want to see and hear why visitors leave, with surveys alongside the recordings.
Pick it if: Store owners and marketers who want to know why visitors aren't converting, without paying for it.
Pick it if: Founders and product teams with an app or SaaS who want to understand which users stick around and why.
Overview
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Microsoft Clarity | Mixpanel |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Heatmaps, session replays and surveys that show why visitors leave, with AI summaries. | Free heatmaps and session replays that show where visitors get stuck. | Product analytics where you ask questions about your users in your own words. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free | Freemium |
| Starting price | From $39/mo | Free | First 1M events free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Microsoft Clarity | Mixpanel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Microsoft Clarity | Mixpanel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | – | No |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | No | No | No |
| Understands images | – | No | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | – | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 6/ 17 | 5/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Microsoft Clarity | Mixpanel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Most small business websites. | FreeOur pick Free Every website and online store. | FreeOur pick Free Early-stage apps. |
Growth From $39/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly Businesses that want AI summaries and longer history. | Growth First 1M events free, then from $140/mo ($100 billed yearly) Growing apps that need cohorts and alerts. | ||
Pro Custom Teams running conversion work across many sites. | Enterprise Custom Large companies. | ||
Enterprise Custom Large companies. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Start on Free. For most small sites it does what Hotjar's paid plans used to. Take the 15-day Growth trial to see if the AI summaries save you time before paying. Survey responses are a separate product with their own Growth plan from $79 a month. | There's one plan and it's free. Microsoft says it's free forever with no traffic limits. Install the tracking code through Shopify, WordPress or Google Tag Manager and it starts recording within minutes. | Start on Free. It covers most small apps, and you get unlimited seats. Growth makes sense when you need saved cohorts, alerts or more than a million events. Young startups should check the Startup Program, which gives a year free. |
Key features
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Microsoft Clarity | Mixpanel |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Microsoft Clarity | Mixpanel |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Microsoft Clarity | Mixpanel |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), Microsoft Clarity or Mixpanel?
They tie on our overall rating (Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) 4.3/5, Microsoft Clarity 4.3/5 and Mixpanel 4.1/5). Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) is best for seeing why visitors leave a page and heatmaps and session replays. Microsoft Clarity is best for finding checkout drop-offs and watching real user sessions. Mixpanel is best for funnels and retention for apps and asking questions about user behaviour in your own words.
Which is cheaper, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), Microsoft Clarity or Mixpanel?
Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar): There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $39/mo. Microsoft Clarity: It's free to use. Mixpanel: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at First 1M events free.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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